A 44-year-old subsistence farmer has been sentenced to 13 years in prison for the sexual assault and rape of his teenage daughter. The case was presented in the High Court in Suva, where it was revealed that the victim is the eldest daughter of the accused and lived with him, her mother, and five siblings.
The abuse began in December 2017 when the victim was just 15 years old and left alone with her father. In early 2018, when she was around 16, the victim was awakened by her father touching her inappropriately, prompting her to kick him away.
Following the abuse, one morning, the victim’s mother inquired if the accused had harmed her, and upon hearing her daughter’s account, she was heartbroken. The mother confronted the accused, who subsequently apologized and promised to cease the abuse. Although the assaults stopped momentarily, they resumed in 2020 and continued on multiple occasions, with instances of digital rape reported.
On February 13, 2021, a medical examination confirmed that the victim’s hymen was no longer intact, and the physician stated that the genital injury was consistent with blunt force trauma.
Justice Pita Bulamainaivalu condemned the accused’s actions as “an incestuous and heinous rape and blatant betrayal of trust.” He emphasized that the victim was violated in an environment where she should have been safe and nurtured. The judge noted that the sexual abuse was not an isolated incident, but rather a prolonged series of molestations. He remarked that despite the accused’s apologies to his family, he continued the abuse, revealing a lack of genuine remorse.